Practice Self- Care With Loving Kindness Meditation
Sometimes we forget how vital practising self-love is and how not doing it impacts some areas of our life without us even noticing it. Other times, we feel we’re struggling to heal some wounds we carry after dealing with challenging situations or people around us, and sometimes we just feel we need to stop for a second and appreciate more our friends, family, and all the people that surround us. There’s a fantastic solution for all this, and it’s called Loving-Kindness Meditation.
This self-care technique has become very popular, primarily because of how easy it is to practice and because anyone can do it- from kids to people of all ages, backgrounds and religions. The only requirement is to feel the need to enhance positive thoughts of love towards ourselves and other people.
Loving-kindness meditation is not only about love, as its name mentions, it’s also about learning to feel and express kindness, empathy, and compassion for self and others. The reason it focuses first on ourselves is because we need to care and love ourselves first before caring about the wider world. This is based on Buddha’s phrase, “unless we treat ourselves with love and compassion, we cannot reflect the same on others.”
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What makes Loving Kindness Meditation different.
All other kinds of meditations that exist are beneficial for human beings in one way or another. Most meditation types are focused on encouraging people to live and enjoy the present moment without taking any action. In contrast, Loving-kindness meditation focuses on nurturing self-love, plus improving the thoughts and actions people take towards themselves and others.
In other words, this technique not only works with the person’s interior and all the feelings side, but it externalizes it.
Another difference is that you don’t need specific tools or a strict script for practising it, you can do it at any space, any time, and it can take the amount of time you prefer, depending on your needs and likes. Hence, its flexibility makes it easy to get used to practising daily.
However, you might need to do some research first before doing it the first time, understand how it works, what it means, and learn some techniques other people have practised. There are plenty of books, videos and information on the internet about Loving Kindness meditation, and you can also find phone Apps if you’re willing to make it a constant habit in your life.
Click HERE to download your FREE Loving Kindness Meditation PDF.
What the research says about mindfulness-based practices.
Researchers like Paul Grossman (from the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine of the University of Basel Hospital in Switzerland) and Nicholas Van Dam (from the Department of Psychology of the University of Albany) have conducted studies about mental health and meditation that concludes these practices enhance brain activities related to emotional regulation, stress management, and immune functions.
Which is a fantastic discovery as these practices are not only good for helping people keep their mind healthy, but they are also beneficial for their physical health. Another reason to practice LKM!
Other studies have shown that people who practice Loving-kindness meditation for long periods show high levels of self-contentment, enjoyment of life, and general joy.
Other researchers have found that people who practise this type of meditation have more positive feelings towards life and the people around them. It can also help reduce signs of anxiety, depression, and the effects of having conflicts with relatives or other people.
So, for whatever reason you decide to start practising Loving-Kindness meditation, you will be rewarded with a pretty long list of benefits, plus you’ll get to enjoy some quiet time in each one of your sessions.
Click HERE to download your FREE Loving Kindness Meditation PDF.
Benefits of LKM
Practising this type of meditation can have a significant impact not only on your mind but also on your body. All these loving and kind feelings that you get to experience in every session act directly in your general wellbeing, your mood, and your actions towards other people.
Here are some other benefits:
· Increases positivity: by reducing negative feelings of stress, hate, anxiety, and others, it helps you have a more positive state of mind towards life in general.
· Reduces self-criticism: as you learn to love yourself the way you are and start accepting every part of you as an important part of your existence, you learn to criticize less yourself and value your whole body and mind more.
· Reduces pain symptoms: especially if you suffer from lower back pain, joint pains, or migraines, you can find relief in LKM as it’s been proved that it helps to reduce symptoms of these painful illnesses.
Click HERE to download your FREE Loving Kindness Meditation PDF.
How to practice LKM
You will find quite a lot of information and guides on how to practice LKM; there’s no unique way to do it as it’s a very flexible type of meditation. You can use some of the information provided by other people, but you can adjust it and make it more personal.
Here are a few directions you can follow so you can get an idea of what it is:
1. Find a quiet and comfortable place to sit or lie down
2. Close your eyes and keep your spine straight; hold a good posture.
3. Relax and start taking some deep breaths while picturing yourself enjoying a moment of peace and wellness.
4. While you breathe out, think about all the negative feelings and emotions you would like to get rid of and imagine you take them out of you.
5. After a session of breathing in and out, start saying the following reassurance sentences to yourself:
6. Now, take a little break and start repeating the same reassurance sentences but now directing the love and kindness feelings towards your friends, family, and other people.
7. You can do another session of breathing in and out (optional).
8. After some time, and once you feel at complete peace and that your meditation has been completed, open your eyes and continue with your daily routine.
Remember, this is only a standard guide, but you can change little things to make it more personal.
Tips for Beginners.
Remember, there’s no need to be an expert to practice this type of meditation. You can start with very short sessions a couple of times a week, and as long as you start seeing the benefits in your life, you can increase sessions and duration.
You can start using a timer if you find it difficult to control how long you take in each one of the steps, it’s not really necessary, but it can help sometimes.
If you don’t seem to see results on the first or second session, don’t give up, as it’s a new practice for you, it might take time to get used to it and understand how it works. Keep practising until you feel comfortable and happy with the results.
Feelings of love and kindness can be incredibly beneficial for anyone’s life, especially for those going through tough times, so it might be worth giving it a try to the Loving-kindness meditation. Are you starting today?
Click HERE to download your FREE Loving Kindness Meditation PDF.